Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to (a) commence and (b) publish the review of the national policy statement for national networks.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Secretary of State for Transport announced in July 2021 that the National Policy Statement for National Networks (NNNPS) would be reviewed, and that review has commenced. The Secretary of State intends to publish a draft of a revised NNNPS for consultation soon.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of a gateway test for carbon emissions to ensure that future transport schemes, with only rare exceptions, contribute to a reduction in emissions as opposed to a negligible or insignificant increase in emissions when compared with the national carbon budget.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Transport schemes are assessed against a wide range of impacts as part of developing business cases. These assessments include carbon and other environmental impacts, and our underpinning models and methodologies are regularly enhanced and updated to take into account the latest data and evidence.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made on mandating disability awareness training for all private hire vehicle drivers.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Effective disability awareness training can help ensure that taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) drivers have the knowledge, skills and confidence to provide passengers with appropriate assistance, so that they can travel independently and with confidence.
The Department wants every local licensing authority to require taxi and PHV drivers to complete this training and will make this clear in updated best practice guidance, due to be published for consultation later in the year.
The Government also remains committed to introducing mandatory disability awareness training for taxi and PHV drivers through new National Minimum Standards for licensing authorities when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to mandate the netting or sheeting of open (a) pick-up trucks and (b) small lorries to minimise litter on the highways.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
When transporting loads, it is the operator’s and driver’s responsibility to make sure the vehicle’s load is secured safely. There is already legislation in place to ensure that vehicle loads are secure and do not cause a danger to other road users, but if a vehicle’s load is found to be unsafe, then the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and the police can take enforcement action where appropriate.
The action taken will vary from encounter to encounter but generally will result in the driver receiving a prohibition preventing the continuation of a journey until such time as the load has been satisfactory secured. Where the driver is culpable of the offence, they will receive a fixed penalty (£100) or, in the most serious cases, can be prosecuted for using a dangerous vehicle. The DVSA will also follow up these incidents with the vehicle’s operator to establish the cause of the problem and to ensure that it does not happen again.
Guidance outlining the responsibilities of operators and drivers to ensure loads are secure, and further information about the use of netting and sheeting can be found online at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/load-securing-vehicle-operator-guidance/load-securing-vehicle-operator-guidance
Asked by: Anthony Browne (Conservative - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will extend the deadline for compliance with the obligation in the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 for coaches over 7.5 tonnes to have been fully accessible by 1 January 2020.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Operators, local authorities and education establishments have had almost twenty years to comply with the Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations 2000.
Government has offered temporary exemptions for certain statutory and school procured services whilst compliant vehicles are procured, which will ensure that children are still able to get to and from their place of education.
We are currently liaising with stakeholders to understand the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the ability of operators to comply and what further support might be required.